


Weathering the Storm

by Squarepeg72



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Big Brothers, Community: hp_drizzle, F/M, First Kiss, HP Drizzle Fest 2020, Quidditch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25888195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squarepeg72/pseuds/Squarepeg72
Summary: Ginny’s invitation to her first quidditch match as a Harpie has Blasie a bit nervous. The storm brewing in the sky is almost as strong as the storm brewing in his heart. Can they both survive the match and its aftermath?
Relationships: Ginny Weasley/Blaise Zabini
Comments: 8
Kudos: 22
Collections: HP Drizzle Fest 2020





	Weathering the Storm

Blaise was not the nervous type. He had survived each of his mother's four rocky marriages and her three stormy divorces. He had defended his house against outsiders in a war, and he had argued for his opportunity to become a barrister before he was nineteen. He should not be nervous about attending a quidditch game.

He had loved quidditch for as long as he could fly. He had watched and played as a student, and he had friends who were now professional players. So why was he so nervous about the game? It was who had invited him.

Ginny Weasley was the last person he had expected to be attracted to. She was the youngest in the long line of red-haired wizards that always seemed to be sorted into Gryffindor. He was sorted into Slytherin, as was expected of any Zabini. They should be enemies, but, somehow, they had ended up as friends in their final years at Hogwarts. She had helped him prepare for his appeal to the Wizengamot, and he had helped her prepare for her trial fight with the Harpies. But, sometime between watching her hair cascade over her shoulder as she studied and flying like a flag behind her as she practised, Blaise has fallen for her a little at a time.

Her invitation to watch her in her debut with the Harpies had been a pleasant surprise. What was even more of a surprise was that the invitation was just for him. _“There is a ticket with your name on it. I can’t wait to see you in the stands and after the match._ ” Blaise had stared at the words written in a bold script every time he spotted it on his desk. This felt like an invitation to something more than just a quidditch match.

He hoped he was not reading more into the situation than was intended. He and Ginny had maintained their friendship after leaving Hogwarts. They got together with friends for meals when they could, but everyone seemed so busy with their own lives that those meals were getting further and further apart. Blaise did not want to ruin the friendship they had worked so hard to build by asking her to dinner, just the two of them. He had been content to watch her from afar and cherish the time he had with her. But her invitation to attend her first match as a Harpie might just change things.

Blaise grabbed an umbrella from the stand beside the Floo as he prepared to leave. The sky was looking dark, and he had heard the weather witch mention the possibility of a storm later in the day. Hopefully, it would hold off until the match was done, but quidditch was played no matter what the weather conditions. He knew a spell or two to keep his robes and shoes dry, and he hoped he would not have to use them. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder and stepped into the Floo. “Harpies stadium, West gate.”

Blasie could not believe what he was seeing. Lightning flashed across the sky and rain fell in sheets from the clouds. Ginny clutched the quaffle in her wet hands and raced toward the Cannon keeper. It seemed like every turn she made on her broom put her into the wind. “Ginny, duck.” Blaise felt himself scream as a bludger just missed her head and lightning struck the ground beside the hoops.

“I cannot believe they are still playing in this mess.” A petite witch was grumbling as she bumped into him. “I know she wanted me here to keep her brother calm, but it is difficult to do when he is yelling for both teams and threatening to get out his wand and cast cushioning charms every time a buldger comes near her.”

“Luna? Are you okay?” Blaise finally identified the witch that was grumbling beside him. “Who are you here with? Why are you fussing so?”

Luna smiled up at Blaise and waved her hand. A bubble surrounded them, keeping the rain off and drying their robes. “I’m fine, all things considered. Ginny asked me to keep an eye on her brothers. The whole lot of them insisted on being here for this match, but none of them are happy right now. Have you ever seen five more overprotective boys in your life? Charlie came in from Romania, and Bill took the day away from Gringotts just to be here. Ron may be the worst of the bunch. He can’t decide if he is cheering for the Cannons or trying to cover the pitch with cushioning charms. I had to take all their wands from them after she scored her first goal as a bludger missed the tail of her broom.”

“Sounds like you have had an interesting match so far.” Blaise tried not to laugh. “ Would you like some help with the Weasley brothers? I’m not sure how much help I will be, but I definitely can appreciate this bubble you have created. Would it be cheating if I asked you to cast one around Ginny and her broom?”

“It would definitely be cheating, and the boys have already asked me three times.” Luna smiled and started to walk to another section of the stands. “You are welcome to join us. Maybe you can influence them to behave better.”

“Don’t count on it.” Blaise stretched his hand out and pointed towards a group of redheads in a similar bubble. “Lead the way.”

Blaise was amazed and breathless by the time the Harpies seeker grabbed the snitch, and the match was over. Ginny had been poetry in motion as the rain and lightning pounded down around her. He had never seen her fly so well. She always seemed to have a firm grip on the quaffle when she was in possession, and her passes were fast and true to her teammates. Even the gusts of wind could not seem to tear her from her broom or the hoops. Three goals and two assists in one of the worst storms of the season. An amazing game for her first as a Harpie.

Blaise followed Luna and the Weasley clan to the family entrance of the Harpies locker room. “She should be coming out soon,” Luna muttered. “Then, I can hand you rowdy boys over to her. No, Bill, I am not giving you your wand back yet. None of you are getting your bloody wands back until Gin says you can have them. That includes you too, Mr. Zabini.”

Luna’s declaration was followed with laugher and masculine grumbling about little sisters and their pushy, tiny friends. “Luna, please,” Blaise turned to her and grinned. “I was only trying to help. She was getting ready to slide off her broom, and the rain was coming down by the cauldron full.”

“You know the rule, Zabini,” Ron wrapped his arm around Blaise’s shoulder. “No outside interference, no matter how good the intentions. Speaking of intentions…”

“Boys!” Ginny's happy voice stopped all the noise in the hall. “How did my favourite people enjoy that game? Did they behave themselves, Luna?”

Ginny’s brothers made a wall of bodies between Blaise and Ginny as she left the locker room. As Ginny approached the group, Luna slowly held up a handful of wands and smirked. “What do you think?”

“Why am I not surprised?” Ginny shrugged and took the wands from Luna. Looking around at the men that surrounded her, Ginny began the process of giving her brothers back their wands. “Bill, have you been chewing on this thing or has one of your children? Charlie, dragon fire is not a part of proper wand maintenance. Percy, perfectly polished as ever. George, this looks like Fred’s wand. Thank you. Ron, is that glitter on the end of your wand? Whose wand is this?”

Ginny held up the final wand and stared at the group in front of her. Each of her brothers had their wand, and Luna’s wand was lighter than the one she was holding.

Blaise pushed his way through the wall of Weasleys with a sheepish grin. “That would be mine. Luna seemed to think we needed someone to hold on to them while you played.”

Blaise watched a tiny smile pull at the corner of Ginny’s mouth as she realised who had walked forward. “Blaise, you came! I can’t believe you came!”

Blaise almost lost his balance as Ginny ran into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Bracing his feet and wrapping his arms around her, Blaise picked her up off the floor.

“Of course, I came. You asked. What are friends for?” He whispered in her ear as her brothers began to glare at them. “You were amazing. I have never seen you look more beautiful.”

Blaise turned to kiss her cheek just as Ginny turned towards him. The brush of his lips against hers warmed him to the core. With a nip at her lower lip, Blasie pulled away. “I think we have an audience.”

Ginny sighed and burrowed her face into his neck. “How many are growling?”

“All of them.” Blaise buried his face in her hair, “What should we do next?”

“Apparate?” His shoulder still muffled Ginny’s voice. “I think I’d like to try that again without an audience.”

Luna tapped Blaise on the shoulder. “You might want to let go of her now. Or escape. Her brothers …”

“Can meet us for dinner at Flying Pies by eight,” Blaise said loud enough for the crowd around them to hear. “Ginny and I will be there, eventually.”

With a smile and a pop, Blaise and Ginny apparated. The roars of her brothers, as well as her giggle, echoed down the hall as they disappeared.


End file.
